Everybody Hates Pluto
by heatqueen
Summary: Yes, I know, it's ANOTHER fic about how Pluto's been demoted to a dwarf planet. But this one's more than just a oneshot...What happens to Pluto's power when her planet gets demoted? And how do the Senshi get it back?
1. Cockroach at the Planetarium

Setsuna watched the news in uttermost horror:

"The IAU has decided that Pluto is no longer a planet, but a dwarf planet," stated the man on the screen.

"NO!" gasped the time guardian. It took all her strength to hold back from smashing the television.

It was just then that Michiru entered the room – and stopped in surprise.

"What's up?" she asked, and then she got the same shock that Setsuna had.

"That can't be!" she stuttered.

Setsuna was devastated: why her planet? It had exactly the same characteristics as the other planet, but the simple fact was, the astronomers had not yet found a way to land on it, so they instantly decided that the easiest way to deal with it was to simply say that is was not a planet at all.

Haruka got the same shock when she came in.

"I'll kill the b------s who did this!" she yelled.

"Calm down," muttered Michiru, though she secretly agreed with her lesbian lover. "Besides, we can't go storming in, what the hell would we say? 'Oh, hello, we are the princesses of the planets, now give Pluto its status back'…sure, lovely, they'll be like, 'um…maybe we should call the assy…"

"THIS ISN'T FUNNY, MICHIRU!" screamed Setsuna from out of the blue. "I WANT MY PLANET BACK!" She truly was angry – something that the other two rarely saw. Even Hotaru – who just happened to have entered at the wrong moment – had a look of surprise on her face. Setsuna grabbed the remote control and switched off the TV. Then, she stormed out of the room.

"What are we going to do?" Michiru nearly whispered.

"Well, technically, Pluto still has planetary status. After all, now that it's known as a dwarf _planet,_ I mean, it still has the word 'planet' in it, right?"

"Well, yes, but…the fact is it now has the word 'dwarf' in it as well," sighed Michiru. "Who knows how that will affect Setsuna?"

"We'll just have to wait and find…"

It turned out that they did not have to do much waiting: their communicators beeped and Sailor Mars's face appeared on the screen.

"Trouble at the planetarium," she gasped. "Huge, cockroach-like creature located on the second floor at the right wing."

"Got it," Haruka and Michiru said at the same time.

"Man, Setsuna's day has gone wrong…she hates cockroaches!" said Michiru.

"Still, we'd better get going," said Haruka. "Get Setsuna and meet me there – the planetarium's mere minutes away, we can run."

"Okay," said Michiru, who went off to look for Setsuna. However, upon searching the whole house, she couldn't find her friend. Sighing, she made for the planetarium, thinking that Setsuna was probably sulking at some coffee shop or the other. Therefore, she was surprised to find that Setsuna was already at the planetarium when she arrived at the second floor of the huge building, but hadn't yet transformed.

"Neptune planet power!" She transformed.

"Pluto planet power!" Setsuna transformed as well, but both girls were shocked when Setsuna started breathing heavily and leaned against one of the big pillars. Neptune rushed over to her.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"I…don't…know," gasped Pluto, between her heavy breaths. "I…transformed, but…it was _harder._"

Neptune's mind immediately thought back to the news of how Pluto had been demoted, but decided not to tell her friend – she was stressed enough already.

"I'll be fine," said Pluto.

"Are you sure? Do you even know what the monster is?" asked Neptune. Pluto shook her head.

"It's a…" but then both girls screamed as the giant cockroach tried to grab Neptune with its pincers. Pluto flinched, too scared to move. But the other senshi were already being snatched by the evil thing.

_I have to save my friends,_ thought Pluto. _I can't give up because I'm scared!_

"Dead scream!" she whispered, and directed her attack at the cockroach. She was horrified to find that she couldn't achieve the same force that her attack usually had: it was maybe a quarter of its size and an eighth of its strength. Pluto backed off, frightened. Meanwhile, Neptune was using her attacks on the huge beast.

Suddenly feeling tired again, Pluto leaned against the pillar. _What's going on,_ she thought. _Why am I suddenly like this?_ Then she recalled the news of her planet: _Is this what's become of me? Now that my planet's been demoted, have my powers shrunk as well?_

Poor Pluto didn't know what to do. A single tear rolled down her cheek but she flicked it aside, determined.

"Dead scream!" she whispered again – still the attack was weak, and Pluto did not have much energy left. Neptune couldn't hold it off forever, and Sailor Moon was trapped in one of its pincers; Uranus was trapped in the other. The Inner senshi and Saturn were trying to defeat it, but could not do much with their Princess trapped.

Pluto tried one more time.

"Dead scream!" She directed the attack at the pincer that was trapping Sailor Moon. Then, she fell over, unconscious.

---

**Neptune's POV**

Neptune attacked again and again. Then, she saw a ball of light hit one of the cockroach's pincers: Sailor Moon was free!

"Moon gorgeous meditation!" The cockroach was hit with hundreds of light shards and was destroyed. Uranus was free, and picking herself up off the ground. But that was not her concern at the moment: she'd just spotted Pluto lying unconscious on the floor. She rushed over to her friend, and shook her until she woke.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Pluto nodded and untransformed. She stood up, still slightly shakily, and leaned against the pillow.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Why is this happening? Why Pluto?" With that, she broke down into streams of uncontrollable tears and sobbed into Neptune's shoulder.

"I don't know," replied Neptune, "but we have to reinstate your planet's status."

"But how?"

"I don't know, Setsuna. I don't know."

Now Neptune was crying, and she too untransformed.

"We'd best get home," she said.

"Yes." Setsuna agreed weakly. All she wanted was to go to her room and think.


	2. Eavesdropping

The next few days were an absolute pain for Setsuna. She felt sad that her planet was demoted; upset that she couldn't be useful to the senshi in battle; frustrated that none of them could think of a way to get her planet back and was generally going around snapping at everyone, else she was shut up in her bedroom. She refused to confide in anyone and only cried when she was alone. She felt so weak, so defenceless. Three weak Dead Screams were enough to knock her out!

The others knew that she was deeply upset, but unless she confided in them there was nothing they could do. They tried to talk her out of her depressed state but, being the stubborn type, she refused to listen to them. They noticed that every time a situation arose, and funnily enough, there had been a sudden outburst of them, she would run to the area – no matter how far away – transform, and attempt to use her depleted powers to their full strength. More than once she'd been knocked out from overusing her magic – and more than once Haruka had had to carry her home.

The inner senshi were certainly no use at all: they kept themselves to themselves and probably didn't know what was going on. Their response to the headlines was probably something along the lines of "Oh well, the word 'planet' is just a name, and names don't mean anything, right?" Even Mizuno Ami was in oblivion to all of this, despite her massive brain power. Haruka and Michiru had to admit they were disappointed in her.

And so the Outers were stuck to deal with Setsuna by herself. Within days they were fed up of the time guardian's behaviour, so they decided to hold a meeting about it when Setsuna was 'out' (so she claimed).

"We can't exactly blame her, but…" Michiru seemed to be struggling to find the right words without insulting her friend.

"I know what you mean," agreed Haruka, even though Michiru hadn't finished her hanging sentence.

"What's up with her?" asked Hotaru, who had been too busy at school to worry about her adopted mother. Now, however, she looked very concerned. "I haven't seen her much lately."

"She's just depressed about the Pluto-is-a-dwarf-planet thing," said Haruka.

"Have you noticed how much weight she's lost?" said Michiru, and Haruka's gaze sharpened as she realized that Setsuna did now look a lot thinner than she used to be.

"That's not the point," she said. "Her weight is not the reason we are sitting in the kitchen talking."

"True," said Michiru. There was a long silence.

"What are we going to do about her?"

Another long silence.

"If only there was a way to reinstate Pluto's status as a planet without having to disrupt the planetarium," said Michiru. "I mean, we all agreed it would be a bit stupid to just walk right up to them and claim to be the princesses of planets."

"There must be another way," agreed Haruka.

---

Setsuna stood outside the door to the living room, in which the other three Outers sat. It sounds wrong, but she was eavesdropping. But she couldn't help it: she had to hear what they were saying about her. She did not want them to run off doing anything stupid on behalf of her. She could deal with it herself, and in her eyes it was pointless for them to worry.

She became especially angry when she heard them talking about her weight: she was definitely not anoexic. So she skipped a lunch here, a dinner there, she still ate, right? And she definitely wasn't too skinny. Setsuna wanted to pound the wall in frustration: she wished the Outers would leave her alone. Even the sweet Hotaru had betrayed her. Betrayal. That's how she thought of it, she realized.

But they weren't betraying her, she quickly told herself. They were only looking out for her, right? That wasn't betrayal was it?

But then…if they were good friends they'd fulfil her wishes and leave her alone, wouldn't they?

Such arguments raged through Setsuna's head for the rest of the day. She stormed out of the house angrily, unable to take it much longer. She wanted her power back! She wanted Pluto back! She didn't want to sit back and let the others fight without her simply because she was weak.

Weak. That's now what she thought of herself. It was a horrible word, she hated it down to Hell. Hell. That's what the world that revolved around her felt like at the moment.

Somehow she forced herself to calm down. Thinking through the situation logically, she thought that it was a bit odd that merely changing the name of Pluto's status should affect her power. Setsuna wondered why. _After all, a 'dwarf' planet is only what those fing astronomers call it, right?_

She wondered if there was a deeper meaning to this, or if she was simply feeling desperate.

**A/N: So...what happens next? Is it really a mere change of status caused by a couple of astronomers? Or – is – it – something – more??? Duhn Duhn Duhn!!!! R & R! I will be most grateful!**


	3. The Note

Beep…beep…beep…

Setsuna grabbed her communicator from her left breast pocket.

"Three youma at the park." It was Mercury.

"I'll be there," replied Setsuna, grabbing her henshin stick and transforming. She sprinted to the park, determined to be of use, even if her state was weakened.

"Dead scream!" she whispered, catching one by surprise, but it wasn't enough: in fact, it barely did anything other than burn its right forearm. Pluto cursed. "Dead scream!" she practically yelled rather than whispered. But the result was just the same, and Pluto already felt drained.

_I only have one shot left before I'm down,_ she thought. She straightened up to prepare herself for attack.

"Dead…"

"Pluto, NO!" Neptune grabbed her from behind and wrestled her from behind. "Don't try to fight," she said urgently.

"But…"

"NO."

Neptune scrambled her back up again, leaving an annoyed Pluto lying on the floor, shaking.

"Whoa…"

Pluto forced herself to get up again, even though she had little strength left.

"My planet's status will not hold me back!" she said to herself as she made to attack the youma again.

"Dead scream!"

With the last attack, she collapsed once again.

Queen Silver watched her cronies, Opal and Jasper, as they responded to her summons.

"Is she dead yet?" she demanded. Opal looked at her, terrified.

"N…no, you see, the annoying Moon brat came along again," she stammered.

"This isn't good enough!" Silver yelled.

"Your Majesty," said Jasper, bravely. "She is greatly weakened from our spell, but she suspects nothing: she thinks it's of human fault."

"It's a start," said Silver. "Very well, I'll give you both another chance. And she'd better be dead next time! We need the Time Guardian gone so we can get through the gate and take down Crystal Tokyo!"

"Yes, your Majesty," they both chorused.

Pluto felt groggy. She opened her eyes but the light gave her a headache.

"Kuso…" she mumbled and, realising she was still in he fuku, she untransformed. Then, she saw a note on her bedside table. Picking it up, she read:

_Ten o'clock, two Tuesdays time, the Planetarium. No excuses._

Wondering who could have left that there, she sat up and checked her calendar. It was Monday today – the 'meeting', or whatever it was, would be tomorrow. Yet as she looked at the note…there was definitely something suspicious about it.

The door opened and Michiru came in.

"You're finally awake," she said, sounding relieved. "I told you _not_ to fight," she added.

"You think that wrestling me onto the floor is going to stop me?" asked Setsuna.

"Well it was worth a try," Michiru retorted. Setsuna scowled at her. Then, she suddenly felt a surge of anger as Pluto's demoted status returned to her mind. She stood up, stumbling slightly, and stormed out of the room, leaving a shocked Michiru behind. Then, she disappeared to the Time Gate.

Since arriving at the Time Gate, Setsuna, now transformed into Pluto, had had an unexplained headache. At first she'd ignored it, but now it had gotten worse. Wondering what glitch in the timeline had caused this, she searched through the centuries.

Shock flooded through her as she realised the glitch was in exactly the time period she'd arrived from. There was a lot of negative energy there, and Pluto knew exactly why.

_The enemy are using negavibes to deplete me of my energy. But why are they after me?_

She thought that maybe if she stayed at the Time Gate for a while her powers might grow strong again. But, to her immense disappointment, she saw no result after even a week.

_It must be a spell,_ she thought. _Something that's not temporary._

Suddenly feeling angry, she returned to Tokyo, to get her revenge.

"It's been ages since I last saw Setsuna," said Michiru, worriedly. "She's been gone for, what, a week now?"

"Mmph," mumbled Haruka. It was early in the morning and she was not an early bird, so it was not surprising that she responded with no more than a grunt. This answer clearly did not satisfy Michiru.

"Aren't you at all worried?" she demanded, shocking Haruka into a slightly intimidated expression.

"Sure," she mumbled. "Probably at the damn Time Gate."

"It's not a good sign," Michiru pressed on. "She only spends long periods of time there when she's upset because it means nobody's going to come and bother her."

"I realized."

This made Michiru lose her temper.

"HARUKA DO YOU NOT CARE FOR YOUR BEST FRIEND AT ALL!" This definitely shocked Haruka to waking up.

"I do, but…"

"BUT WHAT? BUT WHAT, HARUKA?"

"Maybe she just wants to be alone for a bit," said Haruka reasonably.

"ALONE! SHE'S BEEN ALONE ALL WEEK!" yelled Michiru.

"I know but…"

"BUT WHAT, SHE'S MUTATED INTO AN ALIEN SO WE SHOULD STOP BOTHERING ABOUT HER OR SOMETHING?"

"No, but…"

"THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT HER!" Michiru screamed.

There was a long silence.

"You know, you're not exactly doing anything about it yourself," said Haruka. Michiru glared at her.

"At least I care when my friends are upset, unlike SOME people," she retorted before stomping off.


	4. My Head is Pounding Again

It was two Tuesdays since Setsuna had gotten the note telling her to go to the planetarium. Setsuna went, of course, but couldn't help feeling like this was not going to be good. She transformed for safety, and left the house.

Once there, she entered, but found that it was completely deserted. Feeling the guilt that she was trespassing, she wandered cautiously into the building. Finding a flight of stairs she climbed them. The next floor was deserted as well. She continued onto the third floor, and then onto the fourth.

She was just about to give up on the thought that it was someone's idea of a practical joke when she heard a voice.

"You came," it hissed. Pluto turned around to see a girl and a giant snake. The girl was of average height, with blue hair with green highlights and crystal blue eyes. She was pretty, but the look on her face let out the fact that she was not someone that you would want to hang out with. Pluto assumed that it was the snake that had spoken to her, and said "Who are you and what do you want?"

The girl sent her a haughty look and said "My name is Opal and I thought my purpose of being here would have been obvious."

"Hmm…let's think," said Pluto, mockingly. "Maybe…you want to kill me?"

"Took you long enough to figure out," said Opal. "But let's not just stand here. "Cassandra, you know what to do," she said to the snake, who immediately raised her head and stuck out her tongue…

…which grew longer, and longer, and longer. Pluto gasped and backed away, fumbling for her communicator. Pressing the emergency button, she called the other scouts, then hastily sent a very, very weak Dead Scream. Then, to preserve time, she ran in the opposite direction, dodging the snake's quick tongue.

But she couldn't run forever: the snake's tongue grabbed her around her waist, also trapping her arms, and used it to constrict her. Pluto found herself gasping for air, and began to lose hope. If the scouts didn't come soon…

She felt dizzy. Everything became a blur. Then there was a loud crash as she plunged into blackness…

---

The now-familiar feeling of her head pounding woke her, and yet again, she was back in her bed. She cursed herself for not even lasting more than one Dead Scream before being knocked unconscious by the enemy. She groaned and tried to sit up which, due to her loss of strength, took a lot of effort. She thought through everything that had happened.

Pluto had been demoted by the astronomers to a dwarf planet. At the same time, Sailor Pluto's powers had been depleted. Obviously a change of status in the form of a mere name could not possibly be the cause of depleted powers. Therefore, it must have been something else – something evil. The enemy, Pluto decided.

All she didn't understand was why the enemy had chosen _her._ Why Pluto, the Guardian of Time, when their biggest enemy was Sailor Moon? Not that she wanted Sailor Moon to be constantly targeted by the enemy, it just seemed strange that they had suddenly switched.

_Unless they're using me to get to Sailor Moon…_

It was all too strange.

---

**At the Hikawa shrine…**

Usagi: MAN THIS ALGEBRA IS DRIVING ME INSAAAAANE!"

Rei: SHUT UP, THE WHOLE WORLD CAN HERE YOU!"

Usagi: WELL YOU'RE REALLY TALKING BECAUSE THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE CAN HEAR _YOU!_

Makoto: QUIET!

(All fall silent)

Makoto: Well it doesn't look as though we're going to get any studying done today, so we might as well be useful and talk about the "Pluto problem".

Usagi: Yeah, we all know. Pluto got demoted, then her powers went.

Ami: But that's what the Outers think we think. I believe that statement to be false.

Usagi: Oh, no, not more complicated explanations, pleeeeeeeease!

Rei: It's not that hard, just listen.

Ami: Don't you all think it's a bit odd that changing the mere _name_ of Pluto's status caused Sailor Pluto's powers to deplete?

Minako: Yeah, we all agreed that was weird.

Ami: Well here's my theory: it wasn't the change of the name of Pluto's status that caused this.

Usagi: Whaaaaa…but they happened at exactly the same time.

Rei: Just listen!

Ami: The enemy have used this occurrence to cover up a plan to deplete Pluto's powers for some reason.

(All stare at Ami)

Makoto: Why, though?

Ami: I don't know. But I have every intention of finding out.

---

Opal slowly approached Silver, afraid of what her reaction would be when she found out Opal had failed.

"Is she dead yet?" demanded Silver in a spiteful tone.

"Well…you see…"

"I ASKED YOU IF SHE WAS DEAD YET!" yelled Silver.

"No…you see, the other scouts came and…"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE OTHER SCOUTS! YOU'D BETTER PROVE YOURSELF WORTHY, YOU'RE ALREADY ON YOUR LAST CHANCE!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," mumbled Opal.

"Now, leave me and go deal with that damn Time Guardian!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Opal repeated, before scuttling away from the angry Queen.

---

A/N: Sorry it was quite short. Like it? Hate it? Any suggestions on how to improve it? R and R and I'll get chap 5 up soon (I hope).


	5. Plant Shaker

"I'm going to look for them," Setsuna abruptly stated at the dinner table. Haruka and Michiru looked shocked, and Hotaru's eyes were as round as dinner plates.

"Surely not!" gasped Michiru.

"Oh, yes, I am," said Setsuna firmly.

"Setsuna, it's dangerous," said Michiru in a worried tone.

"She's right," agreed Haruka.

"I don't care, I want to know why they've taken away my powers," argued Setsuna, standing up.

"Setsuna?" said Hotaru in a small voice.

"Yes, Hotaru?"

"Be careful." She looked so sincere, Setsuna noted.

"I will."

---

Setsuna went to the Planetarium. It seemed the most likely place to find the enemy, she decided, as she stared at some diagram of the planets.

_Surprisingly accurate by human standards,_ she mused, but she wasn't really interested. She was more concentrated on finding the enemy. She wandered around the floor then went up to the next one. This floor was dedicated to the stars. Again, Setsuna decided that the human findings were surprisingly accurate. However, she continued on, waiting, waiting…

There was a loud smash. Setsuna automatically reached for her henshin stick and her communicator.

"Pluto planet power!" (A/N: is that correct?) she said before summoning the other scouts. Then she turned towards the source of the chaos: a young man with long, crimson hair and green eyes.

"I am Sailor Pluto, the Guardian of Time, and for causing destruction to the Planets, I will punish you!" said Pluto, and many scared visitors to the planetarium turned towards her, gazing at her in awe.

"Pluto, Pluto," said the man. "I am Jasper, willing servant to the great Queen Silver, and for being an annoying twat, I will punish you."

"Stop stealing my lines!" retorted Pluto. "Now tell me, why do you want me dead?"

Jasper laughed. "You must be more stupid than I thought. I mean, being the Time Guardian, you should have been able to see into the future and find out," he chided at her. Pluto did actually feel quite stupid now, it seemed like an obvious answer now that she knew it.

"So why don't you tell me then?"

"Because I don't feel like it. Because you're too lazy to figure it out for yourself."

"I am not!"

"But that's beside the point. Plant Shaker, come forth!"

There was a flash of green light and a monster appeared. It was tall, lanky, green and had a purple head and fanged teeth. Its leaves were long and thin, but looked tough.

"Plant Shaker, get rid of this brat with snotty hair!"

"Yes, Master," said the monster in an excited tone, before pouncing on Pluto and attempting to entwine its leaves around her.

"Dead scream!" It was strong considering how depleted Pluto's powers were. However, it left her feeling tired.

"Get away from me, baka!" she yelled at the plant before dodging its next attack: the Poisoned Needle attack, which sent poisoned thorns at her.

"Dead Scream!" Two of the plant's many long leaves severed and the plant winced. However, it remained standing.

"Deadly Poison Constrict!" it said, entwining the rest of the leaves, save for one, around Pluto's body and squeezing her. The one that was not entwined around her body was raised, and the plant put it against Pluto's chest.

"Die, now, Pluto!" it said, before injecting it into her heart."

Pluto choked for air and felt dizzy.

"Help me," she said faintly, then passed out.

---

Venus: Venus love me chain!

Mars: Mars flame sniper!

Moon: Moon gorgeous meditation!

Monster: AAAAAAAA!!!!! (Drops down dead and turns to dust)

Jupiter: Pluto! (runs over to Pluto) Mercury, help me!

Mercury: (Runs over to Pluto and Jupiter and picks up Pluto) This is not good.

Neptune: What do you mean 'it's not good'! She'll…be alright, won't she?

Mercury: I hope so. If I can get the poison out of her in time.

Saturn: Poison…?

Mercury: What pierced her chest was a sharp Poison Needle leaf. It kills within the hour.

All: (Gasp)

Uranus: NO!

Mars: Well let's not just stand here, MOVE!

All: (Exit)

---

**At the Hikawa shrine…**

"How's she doing?" asked Usagi, concernedly. Ami didn't quite meet her gaze.

"I managed to get rid of most of the poison, but she's still in quite a bad condition. I think she will make it."

"Are you sure?"

"Well do you not trust her judgement?" snapped Rei.

"Shut up, Rei," said Makoto, glaring at her. It was a pretty tense time for all the senshi, particularly Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru. Neither of those three had said anything much: they had all been too worried about their friend.

There was a long silence.

Then a groan.

"Setsuna-chan?" the girls chorused.

---

**A/N: Sorry that was quite a short chap, I will try and make them longer.**

**Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers, you're amazing. Don't hesitate to tell me if anything's wrong with it.**

**Duhn, duhn, duhn! What happens next? Muahahaha, the simple fact is, I'm not going to tell you! Too bad you all have to wait.**


	6. Show Me The Future

**A/N: Thanks for reviews, they are much appreciated!**

**From the last chapter:**

"**I managed to get rid of most of the poison, but she's still in quite a bad condition. I think she will make it."**

"**Are you sure?"**

"**Well do you not trust her judgement?" snapped Rei.**

"**Shut up, Rei," said Makoto, glaring at her. It was a pretty tense time for all the senshi, particularly Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru. Neither of those three had said anything much: they had all been too worried about their friend.**

**There was a long silence.**

**Then a groan.**

"**Setsuna-chan?" the girls chorused.**

---

Setsuna's eyes flickered open. She felt sick, like she was going to throw up, but nothing happened. She decided that she rather would throw up than lie here feeling ill. At least being sick would relieve this horrible discomfort. She groaned.

"Setsuna-chan?"

She recognized the voices to be those of her fellow friends. Then, suddenly, she found that she couldn't breathe, for the scouts were huddled in a close circle around her and Michiru had practically leapt on top of her hugging her.

"Get…off," she grumbled weakly. Michiru did this.

"Sorry, Setsuna, I'm just too happy at the moment," grinned Michiru.

"Yeah well you wouldn't be so happy if I died from lack of oxygen would you?" Setsuna retorted.

"Are you alright?" asked Usagi. _Great question,_ thought Setsuna. _I just got stabbed by something poisonous and nearly ended up dead. Yes, I feel fabulous, thanks for asking._ She didn't say this out loud but insisted that she felt fine. Ami did not take this as an excuse to get out of bed, however.

"Get some sleep," she insisted. "It'll do you good."

"Yes, Mum," replied Setsuna in a sullen tone while Rei snorted trying to hold back manical laughter. Then she fell back onto her pillow and plunged into the depths of Queen Mab's palace (A/N: If anyone doesn't understand, Queen Mab is like the queen of dreams, she is referred to by Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet).

She woke up early the next morning. The sick feeling had passed and this time she actually did feel much better. Unable to get back to sleep she got up, brushed her long, green hair, transformed, crept quietly out of the house and made way to the Time Gate. She had important business to do there. Once she arrived she took her staff with the garnet orb in it. Gazing at the orb she said: "Show me the future."

The scene that came to her was a grave one. Crystal Tokyo was practically in ruins and a woman with long, sleek, silver hair and royal clothing was standing above all, ruling over the destruction. Pluto searched for her future self, but to her horror she could not find her. She said to her garnet orb "Show me future Sailor Pluto". The most horrible image came to her. She was at the local park and there was Ruby and her latest enemy: it looked like a young woman but although she looked pretty, her expression was cold and heartless. Future Sailor Pluto tried using a Dead Scream on her, but she had some kind of shield, and it reflected straight back onto Pluto. Pluto collapsed onto the floor, shaking. Then the girl sent some kind of unavoidable energy at her, which shot through her feet up to her mind, causing torturous pain. Pluto screamed. She tried to send another Dead Scream at the enemy, but this time the enemy used immense speed to shoot away from it and cause Pluto to lose track of her. Then Pluto realized there was some sort of physical barrier growing around her and forming into a dome from which she could not escape. The only beings inside it were her and the enemy. The enemy came closer to her, making the barrier smaller as she drew nearer so Pluto had nowhere to run. She grabbed her by the throat…

The scene went black…

---

_I'm going to die…I'm going to die…I'm going to die…I'm going to…wait – communicator – senshi meeting!_

"We need to have an emergency meeting at the Hikawa shrine," said Pluto to the other senshi through her communicator, then rushed to Rei's house. There she and Rei waited for the other senshi to arrive. Soon they were all there except Usagi, who was, typically, late. They were just on the point of exploding when suddenly.

"SORRY I'M LATE!" came a yell as Usagi bombed into the house, tripping over and crashing onto the floor. "Ow, that hurt!" She stood up again with a silly expression on her face.

"You should learn how to walk and talk at the same time," said Rei, who looked very annoyed.

"That's not why we're here, Rei," said Makoto who shot a glare at the raven-haired girl.

"Setsuna, would you like to tell us why you called the meeting?" said Ami.

"Yes…" Setsuna told the others of the visions she'd had. They all gasped with shock and horror.

"But…that's not going to happen is it? Surely something will happen and you'll survive?" said Usagi fearfully.

"I…don't know," said Setsuna. "But I finally understand why they want me rather than Sailor Moon."

"Why?" asked Minako at once.

"Because by killing me they have access to the Time Gate, and therefore Crystal Tokyo."

There was a deadly silence.

"We have to protect Pluto," said Usagi at last.

"Yes," said Haruka. "We can't let the enemy get to her."

"She should have an escort," suggested Minako.

"Uh, maybe _not_," retorted Rei.

"Actually," Ami intervened. "An escort might be a bit too extreme but I don't think it's a good idea for Setsuna to be alone too much."

"Yes, I realized that much," snapped Setsuna. "Look, don't worry about me, worry about the Time Gate and Crystal Tokyo! If I die we have to make sure there's someone else guarding the time gate."

"That's true," agreed Makoto.

"I'll do it," offered Hotaru.

"But Hotaru, you are fourteen and have school to finish!" argued Michiru. "I'll go."

"No," said Haruka. "Your art and music is just as important as Hotaru's school."

"So who goes?" asked Minako.

There was a long silence.

"I'll go."

---

**A/N: Muahahahahaha! Evil cliffie, I know, please don't kill me but it seemed such a good place to stop and make you wait. SO. Which senshi offered to go guard the Time Gate in event of Setsuna's death? Wait for the next chapter to find out! R and R and don't be mean about the cliffie! **


	7. The Future Is Not Set In Stone

**A/N: Sorry for looong wait, I will try to be fast. Actually don't trust that. I'm always slow at this…oh man…now I got guns being pointed at me! AAA! RUN AWAY!!! Ah…but I know you won't kill me or you won't get any more chapters out of me, muahahahahaha!!!!!**

**Anyhow…From the last chapter:**

"_Actually," Ami intervened. "An escort might be a bit too extreme but I don't think it's a good idea for Setsuna to be alone too much."_

"_Yes, I realized that much," snapped Setsuna. "Look, don't worry about me, worry about the Time Gate and Crystal Tokyo! If I die we have to make sure there's someone else guarding the time gate."_

"_That's true," agreed Makoto._

"_I'll do it," offered Hotaru._

"_But Hotaru, you are fourteen and have school to finish!" argued Michiru. "I'll go."  
_

"_No," said Haruka. "Your art and music is just as important as Hotaru's school."_

"_So who goes?" asked Minako._

_There was a long silence._

"_I'll go."_

---

The senshi gasped and turned around. There, standing at the doorway, was a man with black hair and sapphire eyes, and a handsome face.

"Mamoru…" mumbled Usagi. "You…"

"I will guard the Time Gate in the event of an emergency.

"But…" Usagi began to retort, knowing that this would mean far less dates and fewer treats to ice cream.

"Don't 'but' me, Usagi. I'd place our lives before something as trivial as a treat to ice cream." It was scary how he appeared to have the ability to read her thoughts. Usagi could only nod, lost for words. It was clear that this would affect her badly. "Besides," said Mamoru. "Who said this was all for certain? The future's not set in stone."

"Hai…" replied Usagi who did not look comforted by the thought. However, upon turning back around, she almost completely forgot about this when she saw Setsuna with her head in her hands, crying.

"Setsuna-chan?"

"I hate this" was all she managed to so much as croak.

"It will work out. I will not let anything bad happen to you," promised Usagi. Looking up, Setsuna thought _She looks so determined. It's sweet really._ She smiled weakly.

"Thanks," she mumbled, wiping her tearstained face.

---

"Jasper. Opal. You have failed me again."

"But…the poison," gasped Jasper. "It should have killed her!"

"Well apparently not," spat Opal. "You're useless, Jasper. Just leave it to me, my Queen. I'll ensure the death of that girl."

"I hope so, Opal," replied Queen Silver dryly. "Next time I summon you I expect her to be gone."

"She will be, my Queen. I've got a new plan devised."

"Oh?"

Then Opal went on to explain her plan. Jasper, on the other hand, looked grumpy.

---

**SETSUNA'S POV**

A new vision has come to me. It was three in the morning and I woke up in an upright position dripping with cold sweat and trying not to scream. Thinking back I found that I couldn't remember much, but what I did remember was that it involved Sailor Uranus, Neptune and a lot of blood. I shivered, hoping that by some chance it was just a nightmare. But I know that whenever I get a 'nightmare' it isn't a nightmare at all, but a vision of the future. I wondered whether I should tell them about it but decided immediately against it. The future was not set in stone, and it was always possible that nothing would come of this. I lay back down again and tried to sleep, but found that I couldn't. The vision was too clear, too haunting to let me rest. I got out of bed.

Reaching for my staff on which was attached the garnet orb talisman I asked, "What is to come of this vision?" It glowed a red light and I opened my mind to it. Visions flashed through my head but the answer was unclear. It was just the vision again and nothing else. "Geez, why can't you just give me a straight answer?" I grumbled. Sighing I put my staff away and sat on my bed. It was obvious that I was not going to get back to sleep, but what could I do to pass the time? There was no way I was going to wake Haruka or Michiru, and definitely not Hotaru. It looked as though I was alone for now, stuck here to feel bored and lonely.

I rolled my eyes.

Night time sucks.

---

**THE NEXT DAY: NORMAL POV**

Setsuna: (thinking aloud) Finally a decent hour of day (Yawns then begins to make cereal)

(Michiru enters)

Michiru: Morning.

Setsuna: M – morning (yawns again)

Michiru: Are you alright? You look tired.

Setsuna: I'm fine.

Michiru: (rolls eyes) If you say so. But you know I can tell by the dark circles under your eyes and the yawning. Exactly how long have you been up?

Setsuna: Okay fine then I'll tell you. Try three o'clock in the morning.

Michiru: (gasps) You're kidding! What happened?

Setsuna: Nothing, couldn't sleep, you know, the usual…

Michiru: The usual. The usual! That's not 'the usual'. What happened?

Setsuna: Nothing, Okay?

Michiru: Whatever, it's up to you if you don't want to tell me.

Setsuna: Stop talking rubbish. (Yawns again)

Haruka: (enters yawning)

Michiru: Morning lazy bones.

Haruka: Hrrmmph.

Setsuna: (giggles) Got out on the wr – (yawns) wrong side of bed?

Haruka: Not funny.

Setsuna: (to herself) I have to find the enemy…

Michiru: Setsuna-chan?

Setsuna: Yeah?

Michiru: What are you thinking?

Setsuna: (looking annoyed) Nothing much.

Michiru: You're thinking about Pluto's planetary status again, aren't you?

Setsuna: (gives up) Something like that.

Michiru: Well finish your breakfast, I will not have you going hungry.

Setsuna: I'm not about to die of starvation, you make it sound like I haven't eaten for a millennium.

Michiru: Just making sure you're eating properly, you look thin.

Setsuna: (in a snappy tone) Would you rather I became a fat monster?

Michiru: You know that's not what I meant!

Haruka: (laughs at the 'fat monster' thing)

Michiru: Typical Haruka.

Setsuna: (to herself) I gotta get out of here quickly! (to Haruka and Michiru) I've got things to do, I have to get going.

Michiru: What things?

Setsuna: Stuff. I'll see you later.

Michiru: (looks suspicious)

Haruka: (waves it off) See you.

Michiru: Bye (still looks suspicious)

Setsuna: (to herself) Must find enemy…must kill enemy…must save Uranus and Neptune…must find enemy…must kill enemy…must save Uranus and Neptune…

---

Once again Setsuna found herself at the planetarium, for it was the most logical place for her to be. That's where her vision had taken place anyway. But the planetarium was so big…there must have been a clue in her vision as to where exactly in the planetarium she was meant to go. She thought back, and after a few seconds she found her answer.

_There was a huge telescope and models of the planets._

She made her way to the top floor, the same place she had come to before. From there she tried to locate the correct room – this place really was a maze!

Finally she found it. All was silent except for a few random customers staring at the telescope or reading the information about it. Everything seemed pretty ordinary. Setsuna suddenly felt sorry for the customers: they were so peaceful, so unaware of the possibility of an attack that could happen at any moment. However, it was necessary: she had to save Uranus and Neptune. She stopped and stared at a model of Pluto, and cursed the information that came with it.

"…has recently been demoted to a Dwarf planet…only planet not to be landed on…"

_The fools! The bakas! How dare they!_

"Are you alright?"

Setsuna whirled around and automatically braced herself, then relaxed as she saw it was only some random young woman concerned for her welfare. Then she saw why such a question should be asked: her fist had been clenched so tightly that her nails had almost broken through the skin on her palms. She looked _very_ angry.

"Y…yes, I'm fine," she said, embarrassed. The woman nodded then walked away into some other room where there was information about the stars. Setsuna stared once again at the model of Pluto and shook her head sadly. Why Pluto? Why, why her precious planet?

There was a loud crash and a malicious cackle. Setsuna braced herself once again and saw a youma in front of her. It was unusually small for a monster and appeared to be glowing, sometimes blue, sometimes red. _How queer,_ thought Setsuna, but transformed anyway: big surprises came in small packages. She thought of Hotaru.

_Just like her._

"Dead scream!"

It missed: the youma whizzed around in the air cackling evilly.

"What do you want with Uranus and neptune?" demanded Pluto.

"Oooooh, pwetty stars!" It zoomed around a bit more, then sent glowing jets of…_something_…at Setsuna. It hit her and then she realized: _Stars. Only they're miniature. Real stars would be huge._

She reached for her communicator.

"Haruka, Michiru, get over to the planetarium quickly!"

Michiru nodded but looked angry.

"You're not telling me you went _looking_ for the enemy!"

There was no time to answer: the youma was sending stars at the poor screaming customers. Many, by now, were unconscious, though some put up a fight. That woman who had asked if Setsuna was alright looked angry and was trying to grab it out of the air. She failed: it hit her with a blue star and she slumped to the floor. Pluto smirked.

"Dead scream," she whispered, sending her attack at the star. It hit but rocketed off some kind of barrier that the youma had around itself.

"Pwetty staaars!" it squealed. Pluto dove to safety as another jet of stars – red this time – came towards her. She cursed: _one shot left. Hurry up, Uranus and Neptune!_

"Leave me alone! What is your problem!"

There was a flash of light and Pluto recognized a girl with blue hair highlighted with green and blue eyes. Opal.

"What is your motive!" demanded Pluto.

"You don't understand, do you?" jeered Opal. "I believe you had a certain _vision._

Pluto gasped: how did Opal know? Then she realized…

_It was fake! Opal sent the vision to lure me!_

"YOU BITCH! YOU BITCH!"

"World shaking!" A ball of yellow struck Opal from behind. She screamed in agony.

"Deep submerge!" A ball of blue also struck Opal.

"What! What is this!"

"Dead scream!" Pluto suddenly struck at the now hovering youma. It, too, screamed, but didn't die. Pluto fell to her knees. Her head was swimming. She'd reached her limit.

_I must stay awake! I have to! I can't just leave Uranus and Neptune to do everything for me!"_

Just before she blacked out she heard a miracle phrase: "Moon gorgeous meditation!"

She knew no more.


	8. A Bright White Light

**A/N: I'm back! On with the show!**

---

"_World shaking!" A ball of yellow struck Opal from behind. She screamed in agony._

"_Deep submerge!" A ball of blue also struck Opal._

"_What! What is this!"_

"_Dead scream!" Pluto suddenly struck at the now hovering youma. It, too, screamed, but didn't die. Pluto fell to her knees. Her head was swimming. She'd reached her limit._

_I must stay awake! I have to! I can't just leave Uranus and Neptune to do everything for me!"_

_Just before she blacked out she heard a miracle phrase: "Moon gorgeous meditation!"_

_She knew no more._

---

"Setsuna?"

Setsuna's head was spinning, a feeling she had now become accustomed to, so it didn't bother her.

"Damn those wretched…"

The person who'd said her name looked at her with wide eyes: since when did Setsuna swear?

"Setsuna," repeated Sailor Moon.

"Sailor Moon…I'm sorry…this is my fault…"

"It's not," said Sailor Moon. "We'd have done exactly the same thing."

Setsuna stared at Sailor Moon. The expression on her face was calm and serene, and forgiving. Setsuna let tears leak from under her eyelids.

"I was so stupid to believe them." She sat up as she said this.

"Don't worry about it," said Sailor Moon. "Just go home and get some rest."

Setsuna rolled her eyes.

"Why is that always the case? It's only morning!"

"Yeah, and you've just been drained from your depleted magic…"

This earned Sailor Moon a slap on the face. She stumbled, but stood her ground and stared at Setsuna. She was surprised to find the green haired girl looking very, very angry.

"I'm sorry, was it something I said?" she gasped.

"You have no idea, do you!" Setsuna's voice was not calm and serene like it usually was. Instead it was cold and angry. "You have no idea what it's been like for me!" She fled from the room in tears. The girls stared at the spot she'd just been standing at, shocked.

"She's certainly taking this badly," said Haruka.

"I don't blame her," replied Michiru.

"Let's go."

"Hai." The two other outer senshi left. The inners just stood there gaping.

---

**SETSUNA'S THOUGHTS**

This is so unfair! It's like, 'go home and rest, you just got blasted unconscious' I mean seriously, I'm okay! Why don't they just leave me alone, especially that annoying Sailor Moon, I mean, she tries to be so good but she's really nothing special. Then she plays up this "I've got a pure heart and want to make the world a better place so listen to what I have to say" act with a so-called 'serene' smile on her face when really she's just thinking about more dates with Mamoru. GEEZ THE INNERS ARE SO ANNOYING!

Ya and that's not all. Haruka and Michiru just won't leave me alone. Michiru's like, 'eat up, eat up, you're getting too thin' I mean I can't eat the world you know, I'll turn into an elephant. And Haruka just laughs in the background as if Michiru's just cracked some incredible joke. SO not funny, Michiru! You annoy me, seriously, I do NOT need comments like that at a time like this.

I HATE THIS DAMN ENEMY, WHY ME, O YA I KNOW WHY, IT'S BECAUSE THEY NEED TO GET THROUGH THE TIME GATE BUT IT SUCKS COMPLETELY DO THEY NOT REALIZE I HAVE NO PLANS TO DIE AT A YOUNG AGE! O YA I FORGOT I'M PROBABLY OVER NINE HUNDRED YEARS OLD, I CAN'T REMEMBER, IT'S BEEN TOO LONG AND I LOST TRACK BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT, I HAVE TO PROTECT THE TIME GATE AND HENCE DO NOT WISH TO DIE! WHY THE HELL AM I TALKING TO MYSELF ANYWAY!

I must be going ballistic.

I think I'll just go to bed.

But it's barely lunch time!

Oh well. Who cares? I've been up since three this morning!

That's not the point really.

Why am I arguing with myself?

God knows.

The asylum's just around the corner, go check in sometime soon.

Ya. I'll go now.

Why am I talking as if I'm having a convo with myself on the telephone?

God knows. Oh well.

And why do I keep saying God knows?

God knows.

AAARGH!

---

"Opal, you have failed me yet again!" shot Queen Silver. Opal and Jasper bowed.

"Apologies, my Queen. The other scouts arrived on the scene and destroyed my youma.

"How is it that those dratted scouts keep on getting in my way!"

"I watched her, my Queen," replied Opal. "I believe I have an answer. When the enemy arrived I saw her speak through a machine that told the other scouts to come to her aid. I believe we must rid her of the machine before we attack."

"Your news is interesting," replied Queen Silver. "Very well. You may test your theory by separating Pluto from her machine. You may go."

Opal bowed and Jasper shot her a dirty look.

---

It was three days since Setsuna had been tricked. Though she was still very angry about it, and still spoke on cold terms with Michiru and Haruka, she'd piped down, knowing that she'd look like a crazy freak if she didn't. Setsuna wished that the whole situation would clear up: she was tired of trying to fight super-strong enemies with depleted magic. Some hope, she thought. The enemy wouldn't give up that easily. Hence she was surprised to find that the enemy didn't attack for a further three weeks, and hoped that maybe they'd given up on her. She cheered up slightly at this thought and began to eat better and be more forgiving with the other scouts. Generally this was a relief to the others, for they had begun to get tired of her rather sullen manner.

However, Setsuna's hopes were not to last. She was wandering around town trying to get some shopping down when suddenly there was a loud bang and a lot of screaming. The first thought that popped into Setsuna's mind was _Fuck these idiots! Just when I thought I had a moment of peace!_ "Pluto star power, make up!" She turned into Sailor Pluto. Upon analyzing the scene she saw a weird-looking youma that looked a bit like a magnet. She wondered why.

She reached for her communicator.

Too late! The enemy had spotted her! Pluto had her communicator in her hand when the youma turned its weird magnetic powers on and concentrated them on her hand. Pluto tried desperately to hold onto her communicator, but to no avail. It got ripped out of her grasp where the youma swallowed it.

"NO!" she gasped. _Shitake mushrooms, what am I going to do!_

There was only one thing for it: she ran.

_God what am I a coward! I gotta stay here and fight!_

She turned around and faced the youma.

"Dead scream!"

It hit the youma bang on target but, being weak, had little effect. Pluto was starting to panic: she knew she only had two shots left. She dodged as the youma zapped sharp bits of metal at her.

_Please, someone, help me! I've got to protect the Time Gate!_

"Dead scream!"

By now, chaos was ensuing. People were running all over the place in desperation. The youma was firing bits of metal all over the place and many people were being cut and scratched by them. Pluto's dead scream did nothing but slow the attacks very slightly. She felt drained already: one shot left and she'd be left there unconscious.

_Please, someone help me, I can't let myself get killed, I have to protect the Time Gate, I can't let them get through!_

"DEAD SCREAM!"

Her vision blurred and her head started to swim. Just before she keeled over she could've sworn that she saw a bright, white light…

---

**A/N: Duhn duhn duhn! What happens next? Does Pluto get saved? Or is the bright white light that of an angel coming to take her to heaven? Stick around for Chapter 9, coming soon!**


	9. The Time Isn't Right

**A/N: I'M BACK!!! Sooo…does Sailor Pluto get taken away by an angel? Or does she live to tell the tale? Read on to find out! Oh, and don't forget to leave a review of course, that's always the best bit…**

---

_By now, chaos was ensuing. People were running all over the place in desperation. The youma was firing bits of metal all over the place and many people were being cut and scratched by them. Pluto's dead scream did nothing but slow the attacks very slightly. She felt drained already: one shot left and she'd be left there unconscious._

Please, someone help me, I can't let myself get killed, I have to protect the Time Gate, I can't let them get through!

"_DEAD SCREAM!"_

_Her vision blurred and her head started to swim. Just before she keeled over she could've sworn that she saw a bright, white light…_

_---_

For once she did not feel groggy and heavy-headed. Contrary to this, she found that she felt very light-headed. Upon opening her eyes she found herself in a dark place, yet in the distance there was a beam of bright light. Pluto found herself moving towards it, yet she did not know why. Her mind was telling her to be careful, that this could be a trap, that consequences could be dear, yet her heart kept urging her forward, to check it out, to find out what was so special about it.

As she got nearer she felt warmth, and immediatiely knew that wherever she was, she was safe. Her steady walk quickened, breaking into a jog, then a run. Soon she was so close she had to shield her eyes.

_Stop._

It wasn't really a voice that said this, more sort of an instinct. Pluto halted in her tracks, still shielding her eyes from the blinding light. There was a long pause, during which Pluto wondered what on earth was going on.

_Go back._

Pluto was confused: go back? Go back where? She very much liked where she was now!

_The time isn't right. Go back._

"I don't understand," she said out loud. "I am comforted here. I am away from the chaos and the danger. I am safe here. I have no worries here. I have no wish to leave."

_Go back!_ The voice, rather the instinct, was much louder and harsher. _What's happened to you? What happened to the young woman who cared about her friends? They need you! And yet you're just going to abandon them?_

These words stung Pluto sharply, and she knew at once that they were true. She couldn't abandon her own friends, who were taking on burden after burden for her sake, for her own comfort! Pluto immediately felt disgusted with herself. She turned around and fled.

---

Now she really did feel groggy, and immediately took back her thoughts on being light headed for once. This time when she opened her eyes, everything was a blur and she had a headache. She could just make out several faces looking down at her, but then her eyes hurt and she shut them again.

"Setsuna-chan?"

The voice seemed distant yet somehow close. Setsuna made a huge effort to open her eyes again, just so she could see who had spoken her name. She could just see a turquoise mess on her right, and a lot of yellow on her left. Hence the people kneeling over her were Michiru and –

No the other person was not Haruka, so tough luck to all you people who thought it was. The other person was Usagi, hence the reason why I said a LOT of yellow, rather than a blonde bob.

"Usagi-chan," Setsuna mumbled, then heard the two girls sigh with relief. Then she remembered the enemy. "What happened?" Though her whisper was hoarse, it showed clear signs of urgency. As she attempted to sit up Michiru pushed her back down (onto the ground rather than a bed, she realized dismally as she banged her head).

"You might want this back," said Usagi, holding out Setsuna's communicator.

"But how…"

"Setsuna," said Michiru. "We don't have talismans for nothing."

_Of course…Michiru's mirror!_ Why didn't Setsuna see it before? Michiru would have seen her in her mirror and hence knew to come to her aid! _Wow, are my thoughts really as strong as that?_

"So that's how…"

"Yes" was Michiru's only reply. Setsuna attempted to sit up again and shook as she did so.

"Look, Setsuna," said Usagi. "You might not have figured it out by now but any attempt to sit up by yourself is not – going – to – work." Setsuna grimaced and lay back down again. Then Usagi did a very kind thing: she somehow put all her strength into picking up Setsuna and carried her over to where Haruka recovering from the battle – she was leaning against a building with a slightly strained expression on her face.

"Haruka, drive this one home," Usagi said.

"Yes, Mum," replied Haruka sarcastically, before taking Setsuna off Usagi and carrying her to the car. The three outers left the scene, leaving the inners by themselves.

---

"OPAL!" Queen Silver practically screamed. "ARE YOU UTTERLY USELESS!?" Opal trembled at the angry tone of Queen Silver's already loud voice.

"I – I'm sorry, my Queen," she stammered in desperation. "Somehow the Sailor brats STILL managed to find out!"

"I AM DISAPPOINTED IN YOU! YOU'VE FAILED ME TOO MANY TIMES!"

"Please, forgive me!" pleaded Opal.

"YOU'VE ALREADY USED UP TOO MANY CHANCES!"

With that, Queen Silver sent a blast of such dark energy at Opal that she screamed and vanished into a pile of black dust.

"Jasper, come forward."

"Yes, my Queen." Jasper stepped forward and bowed.

"I believe you have only yet made one attempt at getting rid of that Pluto brat, am I correct?"

"Yes, my Queen."

"And that method failed, something which I was most displeased with…"

"I apologize, my Queen."

"Nevertheless, you still have a few chances left. I trust that you have a new plan in mind?"

"Yes, my Queen," replied Jasper in a confident voice, then proceeded to tell his plan. Queen Silver heard him out then nodded.

"Your plan proves to be a good one," she said. "Very well, you may go."

"Thank you, my Queen."

---

**A/N: What's Jasper's plan? Read, review, and wait for the next chappie to find out! Sorry this chap was kinda short, I will try and make the next ones longer…this was a kind of A to B chapter, I had relieve you all of that cliffie before moving onto anything else.**


	10. The Long and Winding Road

**A/N: I'M BACK!!! And now for the incredible chappie, relieving all my lovely reviewers of the horrible cliffie: what is Jasper's plan? OK I don't actually know if it counts as a cliffie, but oh well, whatever, on with the show anyway…**

---

_In the darkness there was a cage. In the cage there was a girl. She had sleek, black hair and violet eyes which cried out for help. Negative energy surrounded her, cutting off any means of transformation: she could not transform without positive energy. She sobbed._

_A figure came towards her, staring at her coldly and hardly, intimidating and frightening her. He told her his plans and she gasped, for she realized that his plans would cause the death of another…and she was the bait. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she prayed in vain that the other would not fall for the trap and come for her._

"_Why?" she whispered. "What did she ever do?"_

---

Setsuna woke up in a state of pure terror. Pausing briefly to check the time, she realized it was two in the morning (_Someone tell me why it's always early in the morning_, she thought). However, she did not have time to think: she grabbed her transformation pen and communicator, opened the window, and jumped out of it, landing gracefully on the concrete floor outside.

"Pluto planet power!" She transformed into Sailor Pluto then ran. Though she knew not where, she followed her instinct, using her connections to the fabrics of time and what she'd seen from her vision to help her. Suddenly she skidded to a halt, as instinct told her to stop.

_The sands of time are stirring._

Pluto gasped as she realized that she was standing outside the ruins of Mugan High School. But that was not the end of the surprises: there was a thunder crash (or so she thought it was) and something ripped through the air, creating a blackhole.

_Another dimension?_

Knowing from experience, Pluto decided that this was obviously a trap, so before entering the dimension she used her communicator to contact Uranus and Neptune.

"This is Pluto, I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" replied Michiru in a groggy voice.

"Check that Hotaru's in bed."

There was a short pause as Michiru did what she said. A few seconds later Pluto's communicator beeped again.

"She's not there," said Michiru in a worried voice. "Do you know something about this?" she asked urgently.

"Yes," replied Pluto. "Come to the ruins of Mugan High School. Bring Haruka – and transform."

"Right."

Uranus and Neptune appeared within minutes, and gaped as they saw the time warp. Pluto quickly told them of her vision: they both looked startled by the time she'd finished.

"It's a trap," said Uranus at once.

"Yes, I can see that," Pluto huffed. "Why else do you think I called you?"

"Because the fluffy pink marshmallows have come to take over the world?" suggested Uranus.

"Ha ha, not funny," retorted Pluto. "Come on, we've gotta go. The black hole's getting smaller as we speak."

"Hai."

Pluto took a deep breath then jumped through the black hole, Neptune and Uranus following. For a moment she felt light and hazy, but then she suddenly landed with a thud. Taking a look at her surroundings she saw that she was on a stone path, surrounded by complete blackness. Looking ahead, she saw that the path lead up to a pair of double doors in the distance. Seeing that Uranus and Neptune had safely arrived, the three outer senshi made their way across the path.

---

**SOME TIME LATER**

"When the hell are we going to reach those doors?" Uranus grumbled. "They didn't look that far away!"

"Do you think it's a trap?" asked Neptune. "A way to make us tired before the enemy strikes?"

"Hai," answered Pluto. "We should stop here and do nothing until the enemy strikes us."

This seemed like a good idea, so the senshi sat on the path and waited. For what was probably ages, absolutely nothing happened. Uranus suggested several times that they started to move again, but these suggestions were immediately put down by Neptune and Pluto, who stubbornly kept waiting. By the time something actually happened, Uranus was pacing up and down the path, much to the annoyance of the other senshi who reminded her that she would get tired more quickly.

Suddenly there was a rip in the air and something appeared through another hole. To the outer senshi's surprise it was none other than a mere youma, and Neptune and Uranus defeated it easily. Then, however, there were more rips in the air and more youma came. They surrounded the outer senshi who immediately realized they were trapped.

"What do we do?" asked Pluto urgently who, knowing the consequences, was reluctant to use any attack.

Neptune seemed to have an answer: she summoned her talisman, the mirror, and shone it in the faces of the youma who, upon seeing their reflections, immediately dissolved into dust.

"Nice work, Neptune," complimented Uranus. They set off down the path again. The double doors seemed to draw nearer, but only a little bit before they stopped getting closer again. Pluto suddenly found logic in this:

"With each set of youma we defeat the double doors draw nearer but we cannot reach them until all of the enemies are defeated. We should cease from walking too much until the next set of enemies is destroyed."

"Hai," Neptune agreed, Uranus looked as though she had half a mind to sprint all the way down the 'Long and Winding Road' – a nickname they seemed to have adopted for the stone path – out of desperation. However, upon the pleas of the other senshi she somehow managed to refrain.

Then next thing the senshi encountered was boulder-like enemies. They crashed around the stone path, trying to land on top of the outers, who were desperately trying not to get squashed. It was only too easy – Uranus's World Shaking attack got rid of them almost immediately. The double doors drew nearer.

"How many more sets of enemies do we have to defeat before reaching Hotaru?" Uranus grumbled.

Hotaru. The thought filtered through Pluto's mind as she realized that she'd almost forgotten the reason why she was here – to save Hotaru. A worried expression crossed her face but she immediately replaced it with a more content one.

"I think just one more set of enemies before we reach the door," commented Neptune, and this statement turned out to be true – after defeating a set of youma with fire abilities with the aid of a Deep Submerge, they eventually managed to reach the door, and Pluto put her hand on it triumphantly.

"We did it," she said, relieved.

"Not so fast."

The voice came from neither Uranus nor Neptune. Pluto gasped and turned around to see a young man with long, crimson hair and green eyes.

---

**A/N: Long, crimson hair and green eyes…does that ring a bell? Keep reviewing, pleeeez! I love them! Thanks to all my looovely reviewers so far! Also if anyone's got any suggestions feel free to tell me!**


	11. Outer Planet Attack

**A/N: Long, crimson hair and green eyes. Now I'm finally going to reveal the mystery character. Not that he should be a mystery cos I definitely introduced him in an earlier chappie. Just loads of people seem to be having trouble figuring out who it is…well here you go! NOW tell me if it rings a bell! Reviews are appreciated!**

**Also, I'm going to turn this story into a series called the Everybody Hates the Senshi series, and the story I'm going to write after this is going to be called Everybody Hates Jupiter. There's going to be one story based around each senshi, but they won't be posted until this one's finished. Just warning you in advance!**

**Hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

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"_Not so fast."_

_The voice came from neither Uranus nor Neptune. Pluto gasped and turned around to see a young man with long, crimson hair and green eyes._

---

"Jasper," whispered Sailor Pluto.

"Yes," replied Jasper. "It is I. And I have no intention to let you get through the door."

"Wow, it took us several lifetimes to figure that out," retorted Uranus.

"Anyhow," said Jasper, "Let's not waste any time." With that, he held his hand out and sent an incredible amount of negative energy at the three outer senshi. They flew back and landed with a loud thud. It took a few moments for Pluto's brain to register what had just happened, but once her sensed had caught up with her, she sat up groaning.

"I hate you," she growled, her blood boiling and anger rushing through her veins. This was deemed to be odd, considering she was usually rather calm and serene. Barely anyone, save Uranus and Neptune, had ever seen her angry. Now her garnet eyes appeared to be flashing, and her expression was that of an angry lion. "_I hate you! _DEAD SCREAM!"

She didn't so much whisper as bellow the attack. To Pluto's immense astonishment it came out three times bigger than the usual weak attacks she'd so become accustomed to. But still, it had no effect, except to leave Pluto exhausted, for Jasper quickly put up a negative barrier around himself. Pluto dropped to her knees weakly.

"I hate you…"

"What are we going to do?" said Neptune. "It's clear that our normal attacks, no matter how strong, aren't going to work." All three of the outer senshi looked helpless.

"In that case," said Jasper, "maybe I should just finish you off." Saying this he sent another beam of negative energy, and the outers found themselves face-flat on the floor again.

_Please help us,_ thought Pluto. _If anyone is out there listening, please help us._

Another beam of energy.

_Please let us save Hotaru,_ thought Neptune.

Another beam of energy.

_She's just a child, please spare her life,_ thought Uranus.

Another beam of energy.

Only this time it wasn't negative.

It started off as a spark of light, a white light which began to grow. It grew bigger and brighter and as the outer senshi stared at it in amazement, it surrounded them in a protective circle of magic. They felt their tiaras dissolve and their respective symbols appear on their foreheads instead.

"Uranus planet power!"

"Neptune planet power!"

"Pluto planet power!"

Uranus glowed yellow; Neptune glowed turquoise; Pluto glowed purple. They joined hands and felt the words spill over their lips.

"OUTER PLANET ATTACK!"

The overwhelming energy emitted from the outer senshi combined and became an incredulous ball of bright, positive energy which sailed towards Jasper, easily penetrating his negative shield. For a moment everything was to bright to see what was happening, but then everything dimmed. All that was left in Jasper's place was dust.

Pluto was exhausted but refused to let tiredness get the better of her. Using the remains of her strength she forced the double doors open and signalled for the others to follow her. In the new – room, one could call it – there was nothing but a cage dangling from a chain connected to the ceiling, and inside the cage was –

"Hotaru!" Pluto ran over to the cage in which was slumped the unconscious girl. "How do we open the cage?" Uranus and Neptune had no answer so Pluto resorted to do the only thing possible: she sent a very weak dead scream at the lock.

Then, tired from all her effort, she slipped into the depths of unconsciousness.

---

**A/N: Sorry it was so short! I'll TRY and make the next ones longer! R & R! Suggestions and comments appreciated!**


	12. Final Battle

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait! Well, at least I came back at all and that's the main thing, right? Uh oh – what's that?! AAAA!!! Please don't shoot me!!! I can't update if you shoot me!!!  
**

**Disclaimer: I no own. You no sue.**

**If you don't like it, don't read it – press the back button in the top left hand corner of the computer screen, it's easy as that.**

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"_Hotaru!" Pluto ran over to the cage in which was slumped the unconscious girl. "How do we open the cage?" Uranus and Neptune had no answer so Pluto resorted to do the only thing possible: she sent a very weak dead scream at the lock._

_Then, tired from all her effort, she slipped into the depths of unconsciousness._

---

When Setsuna awoke she was surprised to find that she didn't feel tired at all. Contrary to that, she was absolutely bursting with energy, so she lept out of bed, got dressed and went downstairs. She was rather surprised to find Michiru, Haruka and Hotaru sighing with relief.

"Okay, no need to tell me," she said. "I was out for five days, seventeen hours, twenty-four minutes and forty-eight seconds."

"Whoa, how the hell did you work that one out?" demanded Haruka.

"Dude, I'm the Time Guardian, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" replied Haruka. "And what's with 'dude'?"

"Dunno, I'm feeling hyper for some reason," said Setsuna. It's true that the Time Guardian was acting maybe just a wee bit out of character (and that was a SERIOUS understatement).

"What the hell has gotten into you?" muttered Haruka.

"Setsuna?" said Hotaru.

"Yes, Hotaru?" replied Setsuna, trying to act as normally as possible (without success).

"What's up with you?"

It was official. Setsuna was SICK of being asked that question.

"I HAVE BEEN UNCONSCIOUS FOR FIVE DAYS, SEVENTEEN HOURS, TWENTY-FOUR MINUTES AND FORTY-EIGHT SECONDS! THAT'S BY FAR ENOUGH SLEEPING TIME! I MEAN, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ME TO BE, EXHAUSTED?"

"Whoa," mumbled Haruka, while Michiru looked startled by Setsuna's explosion.

"EXACTLY WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME WHILE I WAS OUT OF IT?" demanded Setsuna.

"Uhrm…" mumbled Haruka. Michiru blushed and looked away while Hotaru sighed with annoyance.

"We'd better just tell her," Hotaru mumbled.

"Yes," agreed Michiru in a soft voice. "Don't worry, Setsuna, there's no need to worry. While you were unconscious your injuries were so bad that Saturn had to heal them with her senshi powers. But she was greatly weakened from what had happened so we used a drug to help…"

"YOU DRUGGED ME!" yelled Setsuna.

"You could say that hyperness was one of the side effects," said Haruka.

"At least attempt to calm down a little bit," said Michiru.

"Setsuna's gone crazy," muttered Hotaru.

Haruka and Michiru nodded their heads in agreement.

---

"Useless twits…stupid weaklings…no results…"

The mumbling continued like that for a while, for Queen Silver was very, very angry. Both Jasper and Opal were dead and the stupid Time Guardian still hadn't been destroyed. Once Silver had run out of things to mumble about she collapsed onto her throne and sighed.

"What am I going to do?" she wondered. "I know!" she suddenly said to herself. " I'll do it myself. At least then I don't have to waste weakling after weakling on the annoying Sailor Brats."

She cackled evilly.

---

It was a horrible, gloomy day. The wind slapped across the girls' faces and rain beat down on them, drenching them to their skin. The only one who did not appear to be affected was Michiru, but she was the senshi of the seas so it didn't matter anyway. They walked into a café and Setsuna ordered drinks while Michiru, Haruka and Hotaru sat down. A minute later Setsuna joined them and they waited for their drinks to arrive.

After a while the place seemed to get too quiet for Haruka's liking, and one could see that she was starting to twitch with discomfort. They waited in utter silence, no word being said for the whole time they were there. Soon it became deathly silent, and even the quiet Setsuna noticed that something was not quite right. Hotaru was even beginning to look a little scared.

Setsuna stood up, tired of the silence, and made to go to the bathroom. But when she touched the door she felt an energy so dark that it threw her back against the opposite wall.

"Setsuna!" gasped Michiru.

"I'm fine," said Setsuna, picking herself up. "Don't go into the bathroom," she warned the others. "Something very weird is going on around here."

"Something very weird indeed."

This came from neither Michiru, Haruka or Hotaru. Setsuna whirled round and there, standing at the entrance to the coffee shop, was a woman with silver-white hair and white eyes with no shine in them.

Queen Silver.

Setsuna gasped.

"Yes, it is I," said Silver. "I think you've probably already figured out why I'm here."

"To kill me to get through the Time Gate to destroy Crystal Tokyo," jabbered Setsuna.

"Correct."

"Why though?" demanded Setsuna. "What good comes of it?"

"Once Crystal Tokyo is destroyed I get to capture the universe." Silver grinned wickedly.

"That's rubbish!" yelled Haruka. "You could never rule the entire universe!"

"Oh, yes I could," said Silver. "I could rule the whole of Time and Space. All I need is to destroy Crystal Tokyo, and hence destroy your last defence."

"No!" gasped Michiru. "I'll never let you take over Crystal Tokyo! Neptune planet power!"

"Uranus planet power!"

"Pluto planet power!"

"Saturn planet power!"

They all transformed and prepared to fight their greatest enemy.

"You really think you silly scouts can overcome my greatness?" smirked Silver. "Silver daggers!"

Lots of sharp shards of silver came out of her wrists and aimed themselves at Sailor Pluto, who somehow managed to dodge but ended up on the floor.

"I'll get you for that," growled Neptune. "Deep submerge!" Queen Silver put up a barrier and easily deflected the attack.

"Death strike!" cried Silver, sending a pure black beam at Neptune, who threw herself out of the way in the nick of time – the beam barely missed her right shoulder.

"Kuso!" Neptune cursed.

"World shaking!" yelled Uranus, sending her attack at Queen Silver, but once again she put up a barrier.

"Dark Freeze!" hissed Silver, sending a semi-transparent dark blue ball of energy at Uranus, whose left leg ended up badly wounded as a result.

"My leg!" Uranus cried. _Oh lord, someone help us!_

"Silver daggers!"

"Silent wall!" cried Saturn, putting up a barrier to protect both herself and Uranus.

"Dead scream!" cried Pluto, catching Silver off-guard, but her attack, being weak, had little effect.

"Pesky scouts," muttered Silver.

_Please someone help us,_ thought Neptune.

_Give us the strength to defeat Silver,_ thought Uranus.

_Lend us energy,_ thought Pluto.

_Save Crystal Tokyo…and Chibiusa,_ thought Saturn.

"Neptune planet power!"

"Uranus planet power!"

"Pluto planet power!"

"Saturn planet power!"

"OUTER PLANET ATTACK!"

With Saturn's added energy the attack was much more powerful. Four beams of light, yellow, green, blue and red, combined to make one massive white light.

"Death strike!" Silver cried in desperation, but the blazing white light was too overpowering: it swallowed up the dark beam of energy and purified the dirty air. It rocketed towards Silver, overcoming her with purity and goodness, until her hard heart was shattered and her body was destroyed.

The outer scouts dropped onto their knees, exhausted from the attack.

"We did it," said Neptune weakly.

"We did," agreed Uranus.

"No more dark energy," said Pluto.

"Goodness and happiness," said Saturn.

"Is this the end?" asked Neptune.

"Probably not," said Uranus. "There's always one more enemy to take over from the last."

"Oh well," said Pluto. "What's life without a few monsters?"

---

**A/N: THE END!!! NOOOOO! It's over! But do not fear, I am writing a sequel called Everybody Hates Jupiter, not to mention there will be a zillion more Everybody Hates stories, based on each scout. Look out for them, Jupiter's up next! Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers, you've been tremendously encouraging and supportive, thank you!!!**

**THE END.**


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